Where to find the best diving in the Middle East

Dive in to the waters – and some of the world’s best underwater visibility – at vibrant coral reef sites offshore Egypt, the UAE and more

This month, we’re taking a look at some of the world’s most exceptional beaches and islands (pick up our July issue to find out more), and for many visiting seaside (or sea-surrounded) destinations, diving is a trip highlight. It’s easy to fly just about anywhere in the world from the GCC, but with the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman at our doorstep, excellent diving conditions are never far.

Red SeaKnown for its crystalline waters that offer an unparalleled level of visibility not seen many places around the world – 30m and more – head to the shores of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan to set off on a Red Sea excursion. With 20 per cent of the over 1,000 fish species endemic to this sea, it’s a fascinating look at a unique underwater world. Dolphins also inhabit the waters, and there may be nowhere better to see them than at Samadai Reef, known as the “Dolphin House”, located off Marsa Alam in south-eastern Egypt. Here you’ll have the chance to dive with large pods of spinner dolphins, and occasionally bottlenose species. While in the area, head to the coral garden at Abu Dabbab to see endangered dugongs (check with emperordivers.com for sites around Marsa Alam).

While you won’t see too many big fish, the waters off Aqaba, Jordan are positively teeming with vibrant schools of smaller fish – head to The Seven Sisters which boasts eye-catching coral formations, a sunken American army tank and is home to pipefish, lionfish and nudibranchs (book with aqabadivers.com).

Offshore of Saudi Arabia is where you’ll find some of the Red Sea’s most pristine sites – and uncrowded with dive boats unlike sites off Jordan and Egypt. From Jeddah, make way to the Boiler Wreck (dive with desertseadivers.com) and you’ll see not just the site’s namesake but enormous fan corals, sharks, manta rays and other carnivorous fish passing along a wall shelf. There are tunnels through coral, caves and unusual formations – a must-do for any diver. Around 300km north of Jeddah, Yanbu is another excellent site for wall diving, and one of the best ways to see it is on a liveaboard (plan through dreamdiver.net), setting out on a number of dives with the chance to swim with hammerheads, see two- to three-metre gorgonian corals and beds of anemones.

Arabian GulfThe incredible amount of construction work happening in the GCC states makes for murky waters in the Gulf – not the best for diving – but wrecks in the region still make for some unforgettable dive sites that should not be overlooked. Off the UAE (about 64km offshore from Ras Al Khaimah), the Energy Determination is a deep-dive site, sitting 80m below the surface. Sunk after a devastating on-board fire, the Liberian super-tanker split in two and now sits on the Gulf floor, a home to soft corals and lime-green whip corals, large – but tame – fish and even the occasional ray or whale shark. Due to its depth and strong currents, this is a technical dive for experienced divers.

The MV Darais another wreck – and better suited to less advanced divers – sitting at a depth of just five to 17m. The Dubai-based passenger ship – and a portion of those on board – faced a tragic end after a powerful explosion in 1961 making it the worst maritime disaster after the Titanic. Now surrounded by an artificial reef, marine life is abundant with eels, angelfish, barracuda, sting rays, octopus and more. Check with dive outfitters in the UAE for chartering a trip to one of these sites.

Gulf of Oman and Arabian SeaAlong Oman’s coast there’s much to see in the aquamarine waters, and the protected Daymaniyat Islands, a little north of Muscat, is one of the best places to dive in. With around 25 dive sites around the chain of islands, there’s much to explore, including the idyllic Garden of Eden (keep an eye out for leopard sharks), Turtle City (you may see five of the seven sea-turtle species) and the area’s crown jewel, The Aquarium, where the waters are thick with schools of fish (check with extradivers-worldwide.com).

A CUTTLEFISH CLOSE ENCOUNTER AT THE DAYMANIYAT ISLANDS

Moving further south, to Dhofar, a dive at the Hallaniyat Islands offers a look at a relatively untouched marine world. Best for experienced divers, as well as wrecks, large pods of dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays and the usual abundant fish life, you may even find yourself sharing the waters with an Arabian humpback whale. This is another destination best reached and experienced by liveaboard (try diveworldwide.com).